1.
Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars
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The War of the First Coalition broke out in autumn 1792, when several European powers formed an alliance against Republican France. The first major operation was the annexation of Nice by 30,000 French troops and this was reversed in mid-1793, when the Republican forces were withdrawn to deal with a revolt in Lyon, triggering a counter-invasion of Savoy by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia. The conflict soon escalated with Austrian and Neapolitan forces being mobilised for an invasion of southern France to recover Nice, the Allied forces were bolstered by some 45,000 Austrians, Piedmontese, and Neapolitans, with additional support from the British Royal Navy. This two-pronged French offensive drove back the Allied force, despite their strong positions, a new offensive, again devised by General Bonaparte, was similarly successful despite its more complicated nature, calling for the co-ordination of the Army of Italy and the Army of the Alps. Further French assaults on the Allied positions were called off under orders from war minister Carnot, the commanders in the field were unhappy about this decision, but appeals were interrupted by the overthrow of the Committee of Public Safety and its leader, Maximilien de Robespierre. During the political chaos ensued in the French army, the Allies launched an assault on Savona. Ignoring Carnots orders, the commander of the Army of Italy launched a counter-offensive, following this the French consolidated the front and awaited further opportunities. The main focus of the war then shifted north to the Rhine, until 29 June 1795, nominally 107, 000-strong, the Army of Italy could only manage to field an effective force of about 30,000. Kellermann, who had resumed command, appealed to Carnot for reinforcements, instead, General Bonaparte was appointed to the general staff where he devised a third plan for an attack towards Vado and Ceva. Kellermann was replaced by General Schérer soon after and he carried out the attacks, following a short respite in hostilities Schérer resigned and Bonaparte was appointed commander-in-chief on 2 March 1796. The motives for Bonapartes appointment were most likely political, on 9 March, Bonaparte had married Joséphine de Beauharnais, who had shared her imprisonment with the woman who had become wife to Tallien, one of the then Directors of the French Republic. It was universally believed that Josephine had been introduced by her friend to the First Director, Barras, josephines letters claim Barras had promised the command to Bonaparte, before shed consented to marry him. Barras is cited by his colleagues as saying of Bonaparte, Advance this man or he will advance himself without you, Bonaparte had shown himself to be highly ambitious and had made a name for himself following 13 Vendémiaire in 1795. Bonaparte launched attacks almost immediately after he arrived on the front on 27 March and his 37,000 men and 60 guns were facing more than 50,000 Allied troops in the theatre. His only chance of support came from Kellermanns Army of the Alps, Bonaparte had no chance of gaining reinforcements as the Republican war effort was being concentrated on the massive offensives planned on the Rhine. At the Battle of Montenotte Bonaparte defeated the Austrians and fought a second engagement around Dego soon after, following these battles he launched an all-out invasion of Piedmont and won a further victory at Mondovì. Piedmont was forced to accept the Armistice of Cherasco on 28 April, knocking it out of the war and it had taken Bonaparte just a month to defeat Piedmont, a country which had resisted the French armies for over three years. Total loses during the campaign were 6,000 French troops

2.
French Revolutionary Wars
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The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of sweeping military conflicts, lasting from 1792 until 1802, resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted the French First Republic against Britain, Austria and several other monarchies and they are divided in two periods, the War of the First Coalition and the War of the Second Coalition. Initially confined to Europe, the fighting gradually assumed a global dimension as the political ambitions of the Revolution expanded, French success in these conflicts ensured the spread of revolutionary principles over much of Europe. The Revolutionary Wars began from increasing political pressure on King Louis XVI of France to prove his loyalty to the new direction France was taking. In the spring of 1792, France declared war on Prussia and Austria, the victory rejuvenated the French nation and emboldened the National Convention to abolish the monarchy. A series of victories by the new French armies abruptly ended with defeat at Neerwinden in the spring of 1793, by 1795, the French had captured the Austrian Netherlands and knocked Spain and Prussia out of the war with the Peace of Basel. A hitherto unknown general called Napoleon Bonaparte began his first campaign in Italy in April 1796, in less than a year, French armies under Napoleon decimated the Habsburg forces and evicted them from the Italian peninsula, winning almost every battle and capturing 150,000 prisoners. With French forces marching towards Vienna, the Austrians sued for peace and agreed to the Treaty of Campo Formio, the War of the Second Coalition began with the French invasion of Egypt, headed by Napoleon, in 1798. The Allies took the opportunity presented by the French strategic effort in the Middle East to regain territories lost from the First Coalition. The war began well for the Allies in Europe, where they pushed the French out of Italy and invaded Switzerland—racking up victories at Magnano, Cassano. However, their efforts largely unraveled with the French victory at Zurich in September 1799, meanwhile, Napoleons forces annihilated a series of Egyptian and Ottoman armies at the battles of the Pyramids, Mount Tabor, and Abukir. These victories and the conquest of Egypt further enhanced Napoleons popularity back in France, however, the Royal Navy had managed to inflict a humiliating defeat on the French fleet at the Battle of the Nile in 1798, further strengthening British control of the Mediterranean. Napoleons arrival from Egypt led to the fall of the Directory in the Coup of 18 Brumaire, Napoleon then reorganized the French army and launched a new assault against the Austrians in Italy during the spring of 1800. This latest effort culminated in a decisive French victory at the Battle of Marengo in June 1800, another crushing French triumph at Hohenlinden in Bavaria forced the Austrians to seek peace for a second time, leading to the Treaty of Lunéville in 1801. With Austria and Russia out of the war, the United Kingdom found itself increasingly isolated and agreed to the Treaty of Amiens with Napoleons government in 1802, concluding the Revolutionary Wars. The lingering tensions proved too difficult to contain, however, in 1789–1792, the entire governmental structure of France was transformed to fall into line with the Revolutionary principles of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. As a result, one of the first major elements of the French state to be restructured was the army, the transformation of the army was best seen in the officer corps. Before the revolution 90% had been nobility, compared to only 3% in 1794, Revolutionary fervour was high, and was closely monitored by the Committee of Public Safety, which assigned Representatives on Mission to keep watch on generals

3.
Battle of Saorgio (1793)
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The local Sardinian commander in the Maritime Alps was Charles-François Thaon, Count of Saint-André. Saorge is now located in France about 70 kilometres northeast of Nice, in April 1794 the French seized the positions from the Austro-Sardinians in the Second Battle of Saorgio. The winter of 1792 found two French armies facing the Kingdom of Sardinia, on the north was the Army of the Alps under François Christophe Kellermann occupying Savoy. On the south lay the Army of Italy under Jacques Bernard dAnselme at Nice with a strength of 26,806 men. Anselme wanted to mount an expedition to Rome but the French government desired to attack the island of Sardinia instead. The government ordered Anselme suspended on 16 December 1792 and his replacement was Gaspard Jean-Baptiste Brunet. Anselme was arrested on 12 April 1793 but managed to survive the Reign of Terror, meanwhile, Brunet led the expedition to Sardinia which began on 8 January and ended in complete failure within two months. Armand Louis de Gontaut, Duke of Biron assumed command of the Army of Italy on 10 February, despite this, the Austrian government suspected Victor Amadeus of desiring a separate peace with France. In fact, the French tried to drive a wedge between Sardinia and Austria, but the execution of King Louis XVI by guillotine on 21 January 1793 caused Victor Amadeus to rebuff France. In the spring, the defenses of Sardinia were organized from north to south as follows, the Duke of Montferrat held the Little St Bernard Pass which protected the Aosta Valley. The Marquis of Cordon covered the Susa Valley with 14 battalions and his headquarters were at Susa and a 16-gun fort overlooked the Mont Cenis Pass. Giovanni Marchese di Provera guarded the Agnel Pass near Monte Viso, leopold Lorenz Bartholomaus von Strassoldo shielded the Stura di Demonte Valley with 12 battalions posted near Demonte. Farthest south, Charles-François Thaon, Count of Saint-André employed 10,000 to 12,000 soldiers to defend Saorgio, on 28 February 1793 there was a clash at Levens in which Birons 12,000 Frenchmen defeated 7,000 Sardinians under the Count of Saint-André. Both sides suffered 800 casualties while the Sardinians also lost two of their six artillery pieces, at this period, the Sardinians were more familiar with mountain warfare while the French columns, moving separately, often lost themselves in the forests, rough terrain and foggy valleys. Birons offensive was helped when the Army of the Alps took responsibility over the Barcelonette valley, moving east, the French overran the lower Var and Vésubie valleys and occupied Sospel. In March the Army of Italy counted 17,000 troops present for duty in 25 infantry battalions, already a rising star, André Masséna had charge of five battalions. In its strange policy of moving commanders around before they could master their armies, though the duke was loyal to the French Revolution, the Jacobins planned to bring him down because he was a prominent aristocrat. They finally succeeded and Biron went to the guillotine on 31 December 1793, the Sardinian infantry regiments normally had two battalions, numbering about 500 men each

4.
Battle of Epierre
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Under the overall leadership of the Austrian commander in chief Joseph Nikolaus De Vins, Montferrat launched an offensive in August 1793 to recapture Savoy from the French. In September, Kellermann launched a counterattack in which he switched his troops between valleys in order to drive back the Piedmontese. At Épierre, the French under Jean Denis Ledoyen defeated the Marquis of Cordon in a local action, by 8 October the Piedmontese abandoned all their gains and withdrew to the crests of the Graian Alps. The Armies of the First French Republic, Volume III The Armies in the West 1793 to 1797 And, The Armies In The South 1793 to March 1796

5.
Battle of Saorgio
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It was part of a successful French offensive designed to capture strategic positions in the Maritime Alps and Ligurian Alps, and on the Mediterranean coast. Tactical control of the battle was exercised by André Masséna for the French, Saorge is located in France, about 70 kilometres northeast of Nice. At the time of the battle, the town was named Saorgio, since September 1792, the Piedmontese defenses around Saorge had resisted capture. In early April 1794, the French struck northeastward along the Italian Riviera, from there, Masséna struck north to capture two towns in the upper Tanaro valley before turning west to outflank the positions around Saorge. After some fighting, the Austro-Piedmontese withdrew to the side of the Col de Tende which the French occupied. Dumerbions troops also seized a portion of the Italian Riviera. The action occurred during the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars, the engagement is significant in military history because a newly appointed artillery general by the name of Napoleon Bonaparte drew up the plans for the offensive. The Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont stood at a disadvantage in a war with France because two of its territories lay on the French side of the Alps and these lands were the County of Nice on the Mediterranean coast and the Duchy of Savoy in the north. Aware of his situation, King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia attempted to secure an alliance with Habsburg Austria at the same time as he held diplomatic talks with the French. In spring 1792, war broke out between the French First Republic and Sardinia, the French government ordered General Anne-Pierre, marquis de Montesquiou-Fézensac to invade Savoy on 15 May, but that officer decided that he needed more time to prepare. During the summer, King Victor Amadeus frantically haggled with Austria to get military assistance, on 22 September, Austria finally agreed to provide an Auxiliary Corps of 8,000 troops under Feldmarschallleutnant Leopoldo Lorenzo Count of Strassoldo. However, the Convention of Milan came too late, on 21 September 1792, Montesquiou invaded Savoy and resistance collapsed. The general reported to his government that the people welcomed his army, the town of Chambéry was occupied on 24 September. Sardinian General Lazary, a 70-year-old relic, proved unable to mount an effective defense, a second French force captured Nice without bloodshed on 27 September and went on to seize Villefranche-sur-Mer two days later. At the behest of its leaders, Savoy was incorporated into France on 27 November, on 23 September, a French naval squadron under Rear Admiral Laurent Jean François Truguet sailed to the Piedmontese port of Oneglia where an 800-man battalion disembarked. The troops sacked the town and murdered some monks before taking to their ships again, on 18 November 1792, the Sardinians repulsed their adversaries at Sospel. The French retreated to LEscarène and went into winter quarters, dismayed by the incapacity of his generals, King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia begged the Austrians to send a commander to direct the combined Austrian and Piedmontese armies. The Austrian government appointed Feldzeugmeister Joseph Nikolaus De Vins to fill the post on 21 December 1792, even so, Austria was aware that the French were trying to negotiate a peace with the Sardinians, and the Austrians did not fully trust their ally

6.
Battle of Loano
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The Battle of Loano occurred on 23–24 November 1795 during the War of the First Coalition. The French Army of Italy led by Barthélemy Schérer defeated the combined Austrian and Sardinian forces under Olivier, in September 1795, General of Division Schérer replaced François Kellermann in command of the Army of Italy. Facing the French were 30,000 Austrians and 12,000 Piedmontese under the command of Feldzeugmeister Joseph Nikolaus De Vins and Benedetto of Savoy. Relations between the Austrians and the Piedmontese remained touchy, even though the force was led by an Austrian officer. The politicians in Paris insisted that Schérer mount an offensive and this was urged on by General of Brigade Napoleon Bonaparte, then a military planner at the War Ministry. The centre of the French army, under the orders of General of Division André Masséna, was formed of two old Army of Italy divisions, a third Army of Italy division formed the left wing, commanded by General of Division Jean Sérurier. The right wing, under General of Division Pierre Augereau recently arrived with Schérer from the armies of the Pyrénées, one more division, remaining at Col de Tende, covered Saorge. This army of 40,000 men lacked provisions, decent clothing and munitions, the Austro-Sardinian army was 53,000 strong. On its left the defensive works touched the sea at Loano on the Italian Riviera. Its right was anchored in the Piedmont mountains with strongholds at Ceva, Cuneo and this position was made up of apparently impregnable posts, linked together by trenches and defended by 100 artillery pieces. Schérer arrived in terrain he did not know but was modest enough to criticise his own abilities, Masséna had already proved himself the most able of Schérers colleagues and was put in charge of the planning. One of the most painful privations suffered by the French soldiers was the lack of shoes in the midst of snow, rocky crags and they wrapped their feet in linen, bandages and straps but these proved insufficient. Luckily a brig got past the British warships and arrived before the battle, bringing 100,000 biscuit rations and 24,000 pairs of shoes, raising morale throughout the camp. These were distributed to the weak and suffering first, then to those who had distinguished themselves in action, one old grenadier quipped that, from tomorrow, the enemy would be responsible for supplying them with shoes. On 17 November, General of Division Étienne Charlet attacked the Austro-Sardinians at Campo di Pietri, surprising them, destroying their trenches, Masséna was instructed to carry out this bold plan himself. Unaware of the attack, De Vins pleaded illness and gave up his command on 22 November. FZM Wallis took command of the allied armies. The French made three attacks, one a feint and the two in earnest

7.
Battle of Voltri
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The Battle of Voltri was an engagement occurring on 10 April 1796 during the French Revolutionary Wars and taking place in Voltri, a suburb of Genoa, Italy. The battle saw two Habsburg Austrian columns under the direction of Johann Peter Beaulieu attack a reinforced French brigade under Jean-Baptiste Cervoni. After a skirmish lasting several hours, the Austrians forced Cervoni to withdraw west along the coast to Savona, Voltri is now part of the western suburbs of the major Italian port of Genoa. Voltri was the action of the Montenotte Campaign, part of the War of the First Coalition. In the spring of 1796, Beaulieu was installed as the new commander of the armies of Austria. His opposite number was also new to the job of army commander, Napoleon Bonaparte arrived from Paris to direct the French Army of Italy. Bonaparte immediately began planning an offensive, but Beaulieu struck first by launching an attack against Cervonis somewhat overextended force, after the action, the Austrian commander found himself in a position in which it was difficult to march to the support of his right wing. Seizing this opening, Bonaparte counterattacked the Austrian right flank in the Battle of Montenotte on 12 April, see the Montenotte 1796 Campaign Order of Battle for units and organizations of the French, Austrian, and Sardinian armies. In mid-March, Johann Peter Beaulieu was appointed commander of the Austrian Army of Italy, in addition, Beaulieu shared a personal friendship with Feldmarschall-Leutnant Michelangelo Alessandro Colli-Marchi an Austrian subject who led the allied Sardinian army. Unfortunately for Beaulieu, his government warned him of the possibility that Sardinia might make peace with France or even switch sides and this ruined any chance of a cooperative relationship between the two allies. The situation was aggravated by the fact that the lines of communications of the two armies ran in divergent paths. Beaulieu also had at his disposal 1,500 allied cavalry from the Kingdom of Naples, the Austrian soldiers had suffered severely that winter. The new army commander notified his government that a total of 927 soldiers had died of sickness in February. Altogether, the allied armies counted 17,000 Sardinians and 32,000 Austrians, of this total, Collis army included 4,000 Austrians under Feldmarschall-Leutnant Giovanni Marchese di Provera in the Auxiliary Corps. The paper strength of Beaulieus army was 32,000 infantry,5,000 cavalry, and 148 artillery pieces, Beaulieus army was deployed in two wings. His right wing was led by Field-Marshal-Lieutenant Eugène-Guillaume Argenteau and included 9,000 infantry and 340 cavalry in 11 battalions, as late as 10 April, these troops were thinly deployed across a wide area and separated by poor roads. There were four battalions near Sassello, two battalions at Mioglia, and one each at Cairo, Dego, Malvicino, Pareto. The left wing was commanded by Feldmarschall-Leutnant Karl Philipp Sebottendorf, of the 19,500 troops of the left wing, only half were available for use in the field while the rest was dispersed in garrisons

8.
Battle of Montenotte
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The French won the battle, which was fought near the village of Cairo Montenotte in the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont. The modern town is located in the part of Italy. On 11 April, Argenteau led 3,700 men in several assaults against a French mountaintop redoubt, by the morning of the 12th, Bonaparte concentrated large forces against Argenteaus now-outnumbered troops. The strongest French push came from the direction of the mountaintop redoubt, in its hasty retreat from the field, Argenteaus force lost heavily and was badly disorganized. This attack against the boundary between the Austrian and Sardinian armies threatened to sever the link between the two allies and this action was part of the Montenotte Campaign. See Montenotte 1796 Campaign Order of Battle for the organization of the French, Austrian, on 27 March 1796, a young General Bonaparte arrived in Nice to take over the Army of Italy, his first army command. His army included 63,000 troops, but of these, the soldiers were badly fed, months behind in pay, and poorly equipped. Consequently, morale in many units was low and in a few cases this had led to mutiny, Bonapartes Austrian opponent, Feldzeugmeister Johann Peter Beaulieu was also new to the Italian theater of operations. Beaulieu directly controlled 19,500 Austrians of whom half were still in winter quarters, beaulieus subordinate Argenteau commanded an additional 11,500 Austrians who were deployed farther to the west around Acqui Terme. A Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont army of about 20,000 men was west of Argenteaus corps, colli, an Austrian on loan to the Sardinian army, shared a personal friendship with Beaulieu. However, the Austrian government secretly warned Beaulieu not to trust his Sardinian ally and this made it difficult for the two allied leaders to agree on a joint strategy. Colli feared an attack that would split the allied armies, which was exactly the plan that Bonaparte was contemplating and he argued for the allied armies to concentrate in the center. But Beaulieu became convinced that the French intended to seize Genoa, Laharpe and Meyniers divisions formed the advance guard under André Masséna. Laharpes 8,614 soldiers were divided between the 17th and 22nd Light Infantry Demi-Brigades and the 32nd and 75th Line Infantry Demi-Brigades, meynier commanded 9,526 men in the 11th and 27th Light and the 25th, 51st, old 51st, and 55th Line. Augereau led 10,117 troops in the 4th and 29th Light and 4th, 14th, sérurier directed 9,448 men in the 69th Light, 39th Line, and 85th Line. General of Brigade Jean-Baptiste Cervoni was detached at Voltri with the 3,181 troops of the 75th Line and 2,000 soldiers of the 51st Line, Beaulieu planned to fall on Cervoni with two columns under General-major Philipp Pittoni von Dannenfeld and Feldmarschall-Leutnant Karl Philipp Sebottendorf. Pittoni had infantry five battalions and four squadrons totalling 3,350 foot soldiers and 624 horsemen. Sebottendorf led 3,200 troops in five battalions, Argenteau counted 9,000 infantry and 340 cavalry in 11 battalions and two squadrons

9.
Second Battle of Dego
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The Second Battle of Dego was fought on 14 and 15 April 1796 during the French Revolutionary Wars between French forces and Austro-Sardinian forces. The battle was fought near Dego, a hamlet in northwestern Italy, by taking the defences at Dego, the French would control the only road by which the two armies could link with each other. The towns defences comprised both a castle on a bluff and earthworks on rising ground, and were held by a mixed force. The French overran the defences, losing about 1,500 killed and wounded, the Austrians suffered 3,000 casualties, including a large number of prisoners. Argenteaus survivors fled northeast to the town of Acqui Terme, Bonaparte ordered Meynier to hold Dego, while he took Laharpes division west to fight Collis Sardinians. However, the French troops in Dego then gave themselves over to looting, at dawn on 15 April, under cover of fog, the defences were counter-attacked by an Austrian force under Colonel Josef Vukassovich. Beaulieu planned for Vukassovich to reinforce Argenteau the day before, but his orders were poorly written, nevertheless, taken by surprise, the French were rapidly driven out of Dego and back to their starting point of the day before. Allegedly, the attack caught Masséna in bed with a woman. Masséna took some time to control of the situation again. He recalled Laharpe and organised a counter-attack, which was supported by other reinforcements brought up by Bonaparte, vukassovichs force was heavily outnumbered, and was unable to defend for long before it was driven out, leaving Dego definitively in French hands. The second days action cost the Austrians a further 670 killed and wounded, the Preiss Infantry Regiment #24 took particularly heavy losses. The French lost 621 killed and wounded, and 317 captured, the second day surprise made Bonaparte anxious that Beaulieu might intervene from the east, so the French general reorganized his forces and sent out strong patrols on 16 April. But Argenteaus mauling at Montenotte and Dego shook Beaulieus nerve and he stayed near Acqui, satisfied that Beaulieu was out of the picture, Bonaparte turned on Colli with his main strength on 17 April. On 21 April, The French beat Colli at the Battle of Mondovì, the Road to Rivoli, London, Cassell,2001 Chandler, David. Chandler, David Dictionary of the Napoleonic Wars, the Campaigns of Napoleon Bonaparte of 1796-1797. West Point, NY, US Military Academy Printing Office,1911, reprinted in Bonaparte in Italy Operational Studies Group wargame study folder. Die Gefechte in den Apenninen, bei Voltri, Montenotte, Millessimo, Cossaria und Dego, ISBN 1-85367-276-9 Bonapartes blitzkrieg in Italy 1796, Dego and Lodi

10.
Battle of Ceva
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Augereau assaulted the strong defensive position without success. At the direction of the Sardinian army commander, Feldmarschal-Leutnant Michelangelo Colli, the Montenotte Campaign began on 10 April when Feldzeugmeister Johann Beaulieus Austrian army attacked the extreme right flank of General of Division Napoleon Bonapartes army near Genoa. Bonaparte launched a counterattack on 12 April at the Battle of Montenotte. On 13 April, MG Augereaus reinforced division defeated part of Collis Sardinian army at the Battle of Millesimo, in the Second Battle of Dego on 14 and 15 April, the Austrians were defeated again. On 15 April, Colli assembled a force on ground at Montezemolo in order to cover the fortress of Ceva. Meanwhile, MG Jean Séruriers division advanced from Ormea north toward Ceva along the Tanaro River valley, fearing he might be cut off from Ceva, the Piedmontese commander fell back to the fortress. Marching from the east, Augereau occupied Montezemolo early on 16 April, then his division moved north, see the Montenotte 1796 Campaign Order of Battle for a list of French, Austrian, and Sardinian units and organizations. In 1796, the fortress loomed over the side of Ceva. The Sardinians deployed atop a ridge runs from the fortress north about seven kilometers to the hamlet of La Pedaggera. Sardinian and Austrian engineers had fortified the ridge, which overlooks the Bovina stream, General Brempt held the north end of the line with several Piedmontese battalions plus the Austrian Belgioso Infantry Regiment #44. Vital defended the south end of the line with nine battalions, Augereaus division formed several columns under General of Brigade Martial Beyrand and BG Barthélemy Joubert. Two French columns pressed home their attacks on Brempts left flank while one column assaulted Vitals position near Mondoni in the center, the Sardinians repelled all attacks on the ridge. That evening Sérurier camped within sight of Ceva, threatening to turn the flank of the Sardinian line. On the northern flank, Brempt reported that he might be cut off if attacked again, though they had won a defensive success, the mood of the Piedmontese generals was gloomy and they recommended a retreat. That night, Colli held a council of war in which he decided to withdraw most of the army west behind the Corsaglia River, some units were sent northwest to Cherasco to prevent the French from cutting between Colli and the Piedmontese capital of Turin. Augereau occupied the abandoned Sardinian positions on 17 April, Bonaparte decided to mask the fortress with a force under BG Jean Rusca and continue to press the Piedmontese back on Cuneo. The French lost about 600 men killed and wounded, Brempt reported a loss of 150 while Vitals casualties are unknown. The Sardinians won another rear guard action at San Michele Mondovi on 19 April and this was followed by the decisive French victory at the Battle of Mondovì on 21 April

11.
Battle of Fombio
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The Battle of Fombio was fought between the French Army of Italy led by Napoleon Bonaparte and the Austrian army under Feldzeugmeister Johann Peter Beaulieu between 7 and 9 May 1796. It was the strategic point of the campaign, as Bonaparte crossed the Po River at Piacenza in Beaulieus rear. This threat forced the Austrian army to withdraw to the east, after forcing the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont to sue for peace at the end of the Montenotte Campaign, Bonaparte turned on the Austrians, who retreated to the north bank of the Po. The French army commander ordered General of Division Jean-Mathieu-Philibert Sérurier to launch an attack on Beaulieus positions near Valenza. Forming an advance guard of 3,500 grenadiers and 1,500 cavalry, then he sent Dallemagne on a rapid march to the east along the south bank of the Po. The advance guard was followed by General of Division Amédée Emmanuel François Laharpes division, Bonaparte intended to turn the Austrian left flank by crossing the Po near Piacenza. Early on 7 May, the advance guard seized a ferry near Piacenza and quickly crossed the river, soon both Dallemagne and Laharpes commands formed a bridgehead on the north bank. General-major Anton Lipthay de Kisfaluds forces, which numbered 4,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry, soon detected the French, meanwhile, General of Division Pierre Augereau got his 7,000 soldiers across the Po farther west by using a captured barge. On the morning of 8 May, Dallemagnes advance guard, supported by Laharpes 6, 500-strong division, colonels Lannes and François Lanusse led the advance guards left and center columns while Dallemagne personally commanded the right column. At first Lipthay resisted stoutly, using his hussars to counterattack and his Austrian and Neapolitan cavalry covered the retreat to Codogno. The French attacked Lipthay again in Codogno and the Austrians had to fight their way back to Pizzighettone, lipthays losses numbered 568 men on 7–8 May. According to one report, the French suffered 150 killed and 300 wounded in the first volley. That evening, as Laharpes 51st Line Infantry Demi-Brigade marched through Codogno, General-Major Anton Schübirz von Chobinin, in one confused clash in the dark streets, Laharpe was killed, possibly by friendly fire. Bonapartes chief of staff, General of Brigade Louis Berthier took charge, cut off from the bridge over the Adda at Pizzighettone, Beaulieu directed his retreating units to make for the bridge at Lodi, farther north. The Battle of Lodi followed on 10 May as Beaulieu tried to get his army safely behind the Adda, Battle of Fombio – J Rickard, HistoryOfWar. org,29 January 2009 Painting of battle

12.
Battle of Lodi
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The Battle of Lodi was fought on 10 May 1796 between French forces under General Napoleon Bonaparte and an Austrian rear guard led by Karl Philipp Sebottendorf at Lodi, Lombardy. The rear guard was defeated, but the body of Johann Peter Beaulieus Austrian Army had time to retreat. Vukassovich was soon relieved by Gerhard Rosselminis covering force near the town, the towns defences were not strong, the defenders were few, and the French were able to get inside and make their way towards the bridge. The span was defended from the far bank by nine battalions of infantry arrayed in two lines and fourteen guns, Sebottendorf decided that it was inadvisable to retire in daylight, and opted to defend the crossing until nightfall. One eye-witness stated that the Austrians had men attempting to destroy the bridge and it should have been fairly easy to prevent a French crossing because the bridge was wooden, and could have been burnt. It was about 200 yards long, and was a simple structure consisting of piles driven into the river bed every few yards. The French advance guard was not strong enough to try to cross the bridge, during the afternoon, a violent cannonade began, as French guns arrived and were positioned to fire across the river. The carabiniers then stormed out of the gates and onto the bridge and these officers included André Masséna, Louis Berthier, Jean Lannes, Jean-Baptiste Cervoni, and Claude Dallemagne. Some of the French climbed down the piles and waded through the water, oberst Count Attems of Terzi Infantry Regiment #16 was killed covering the successful, though costly withdrawal. Austrian losses were 21 officers,5,200 men, and 235 horses killed, wounded, in addition,12 cannons,2 howitzers and 30 ammunition wagons had been lost. The Battle of Lodi was not a decisive engagement, since the Austrian army had successfully escaped, la battaglia al ponte di Lodi e l’inizio della settimana napoleonica lodigiana. The Road to Rivoli, Napoleons First Campaign, die Kriegsereignisse in Italien vom 15 April bis 16 Mai 1796, mit dem Gefechte bei Lodi. Bonapartes blitzkrieg in Italy 1796, Dego and Lodi Photos of sites of the 1796 campaign Paintings of battles of the 1796 campaign

13.
Battle of Borghetto
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The Battle of Borghetto, near Valeggio sul Mincio in the Veneto of northern Italy, took place during the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. This action compelled the Austrian army to retreat north up the Adige valley to Trento, in early May, Bonapartes French army won the battles of Fombio and Lodi and overran the Austrian province of Lombardy. Beaulieu evacuated Milan except for a 2, 000-man garrison that he left in the citadel, in mid-May, the French occupied Milan and Brescia. At this time, the army had to pause to put down a revolt in Pavia, at the village of Binasco, the French atrociously massacred the adult male population. Beaulieu pulled his army back behind the Mincio, with strong patrols west of the river and he urgently tried to put the fortress of Mantua into a state where it could sustain a siege. The Mincio River exits Lake Garda at Peschiera del Garda and winds its way south for 30 kilometers, at a point 8 km before it arrives at Mantua, it veers to the east. The river was a maximum of 40 meters wide, but in May the snow-melt from the Alps made it difficult to ford. Between Lake Garda and Mantua there were four bridges, from north to south, at Peschiera, Borghetto, Goito. Near Peschiera and Borghetto there are a series of moraines that form ridges, in the area of Goito and Mantua, the terrain is flat. To the north, Lake Garda extends about 50 km to its tip at Riva del Garda. The death of Amédée Emmanuel François Laharpe at the Battle of Fombio caused Bonaparte to reorganize his army, General of Division Hyacinthe François Joseph Despinoy with 5,278 blockaded the citadel of Milan and 5,500 more garrisoned different places in northwest Italy. Beaulieu posted General-major Anton Lipthay de Kisfalud with 3,049 infantry and 779 cavalry at Peschiera, feldmarschall-Leutnant Michelangelo Alessandro Colli-Marchi held the crossing at Goito with a 3, 558-man division consisting of Rukavinas 2,583 infantry plus Austrian and Neapolitan cavalry. Canto dIrles and his large garrison covered the Rivalta bridge, in the center, Feldmarschall-Leutnants Michael von Melas and Karl Philipp Sebottendorf jointly commanded 8,169 infantry and 2,086 cavalry to defend the Mincio near Valeggio. Bonaparte determined to use the bridge at Borghetto for his crossing, to misdirect the Austrians, he ordered a feint attack in the direction of Peschiera. He sent General of Brigade Jean-Baptiste Dominique Rusca to Salò on the west shore of Lake Garda, to hide his true intentions, Bonaparte held his three combat divisions well to the west of the Mincio. Beaulieu reacted as the French commander hoped, instead of concentrating his forces at the bridges, the Austrian commander attempted to set up a cordon defense on the river between Peschiera and Goito. In the midst of this movement, Beaulieu became ill, on 29 May, a series of confusing orders emanated from Austrian headquarters, throwing the army into disarray. This proved to be a break for Bonaparte because the French advance began early in the morning of 30 May

14.
Battle of Lonato
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The Battle of Lonato was fought on 3 and 4 August 1796 between the French Army of Italy under General Napoleon Bonaparte and a corps-sized Austrian column led by Lieutenant General Peter Quasdanovich. A week of hard-fought actions that began on 29 July and ended on 4 August resulted in the retreat of Quasdanovichs badly mauled force, the elimination of Quasdanovichs threat allowed Bonaparte to concentrate against and defeat the main Austrian army at the Battle of Castiglione on 5 August. Lonato del Garda is located near the SP668 highway and the Brescia-Padua section of Autostrada A4 to the southwest of Lake Garda, on 29 July, the Austrians advanced out of the Alps to capture the towns of Gavardo and Salò on the west side of Lake Garda. The Austrians followed up this success by surprising and seizing the French base at Brescia on 30 July, an Austrian brigade captured Lonato del Garda on the 31st but was ejected from the town by a French counterattack after tough fighting. Also on the 31st, a French division briefly recaptured Salò, rescued a small band of compatriots and this series of combats and other battles east of Lake Garda compelled Bonaparte to raise the Siege of Mantua. Leaving only one division to observe the main Austrian army to the east, Bonaparte assembled overwhelming force, Quasdanovich regrouped around Gavardo on 2 August, while ordering an attack by several columns for the next day. On 3 August, one of the Austrian columns defeated a French brigade, however, the French also attacked that day, capturing Salò and nearly taking Gavardo. With most of the Austrian forces placed on the defensive, Bonaparte massed against the brigade in Lonato. This disaster caused Quasdanovich to order a retreat on 4 August, in a final calamity, one withdrawing Austrian column was cut off and captured. At the end of July an Austrian army set out from Trento with the purpose of relieving the fortress of Mantua. This 18, 000-strong corps consisted of four mixed brigades led by General-Majors Peter Karl Ott von Bátorkéz, Heinrich XV, Prince of Reuss-Plauen, Joseph Ocskay von Ocsko, and Johann Rudolph Sporck. The Right Column also included two advanced guards, led by Obersts Franz Joseph, Marquis de Lusignan and Johann von Klenau, Bonaparte did not believe that major Austrian forces were capable of operating in the mountains west of Lake Garda. The French held Brescia with only three companies of infantry, see Castiglione 1796 Campaign Order of Battle for a detailed list of French and Austrian units. On 29 July, Otts brigade attacked Salò while Ocskays brigade moved against Gavardo, General of Brigade Jean-Baptiste Dominique Rusca was warned by a village curate of Austrian descent, but chose to disregard the information. Consequently, the Austrians took Saurets division by surprise, the French general withdrew to Desenzano after a stiff fight in which 500 Frenchmen and two cannons were captured. At Salò, General of Brigade Jean Joseph Guieu and 400 men took refuge in the Palazzo Martinengo where they were blockaded by Ocskays soldiers, the next morning, under cover of fog, he seized the city in a coup de main. The Austrians captured 600–700 able-bodied soldiers plus 2,000 more in the hospital, among the prisoners were Colonels Jean Lannes, Joachim Murat and François Étienne de Kellermann. Quasdanovich soon arrived at Brescia with the brigades of Reuss and Sporck, at the same time, Otts brigade advanced south from Salò and Gavardo to reach Ponte San Marco, where the Brescia-Verona highway crosses the Chiese just west of Lonato

15.
Battle of Castiglione
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The Battle of Castiglione saw the French Army of Italy under General Napoleon Bonaparte attack an army of Habsburg Austria led by Feldmarschall Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser on 5 August 1796. The outnumbered Austrians were defeated and driven back along a line of hills to the crossing at Borghetto. The town of Castiglione delle Stiviere is located 10 kilometres south of Lake Garda in northern Italy and this battle was one of four famous victories won by Bonaparte during the War of the First Coalition, part of the Wars of the French Revolution. The others were Bassano, Arcole, and Rivoli, Castiglione was the first attempt by the Austrian army to break the French Siege of Mantua, which was the primary Austrian fortress in northern Italy. To achieve this goal, Wurmser planned to lead four converging columns against the French and it succeeded insofar as Bonaparte lifted the siege in order to have the manpower sufficient to meet the threat. But his skill and the speed of his troops allowed the French army commander to keep the Austrian columns separated. Although the final attack was prematurely delivered, it nevertheless resulted in a victory. See Castiglione 1796 Campaign Order of Battle for French and Austrian units, Mantua was one of four famous fortresses known as the Quadrilateral. The French army occupied the three, Legnago, Verona and Peschiera. On 31 May, Bonaparte tried to rush Mantua, but the attempt failed, by 3 June, the French army invested the place, which was defended by Joseph Franz Canto dIrless Austrian garrison and 316 cannon. In June, Bonapartes army forced the Papal States, Tuscany, Parma and Modena to make peace, by taking artillery pieces from the subdued cities, the French general assembled a siege train of 179 cannon for his siege of Mantua. The formal siege began on 4 July, Bonaparte positioned his 46,000 soldiers to protect the siege of Mantua. Pierre François Sauret held Brescia and the side of Lake Garda. André Masséna guarded the approaches with the bulk of his force in the upper Adige River valley on the east side of Lake Garda. Pierre Augereau covered the lower Adige on either side of Legnago, jean-Mathieu-Philibert Sérurier led the force besieging Mantua. Hyacinthe Despinoy had one demi-brigade at Peschiera, another with Masséna, Charles Edward Jennings de Kilmaines cavalry reserve lay at Villafranca di Verona, southwest of Verona. Wurmser devised a plan of attack. He retained direct control over the two central columns, leading the Right-Center Column, Michael von Melas struck south with 14,000 soldiers down the west bank of the Adige

16.
Battle of Rovereto
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The battle was fought near the town of Rovereto, in the upper Adige River valley in northern Italy. The action was fought during the relief of the Siege of Mantua. The Austrians left Davidovichs corps in the upper Adige valley while transferring two divisions to Bassano del Grappa by marching east, then south down the Brenta River valley, the Austrian army commander Dagobert von Würmser planned to march south-west from Bassano to Mantua, completing the clockwise manoeuvre. Meanwhile, Davidovich would threaten a descent from the north to distract the French, bonapartes next move did not conform to the Austrians expectations. The French commander advanced north with three divisions, a force greatly outnumbered Davidovich. The French steadily pressed back the Austrian defenders all day and routed them in the afternoon, Davidovich retreated well to the north. This success allowed Bonaparte to follow Würmser down the Brenta valley to Bassano and, ultimately, after being defeated in the Battle of Castiglione on 5 August, the Austrian army under Feldmarschall Würmser retreated north to Trento. Meanwhile, the French army resumed the Siege of Mantua, pre-dawn attacks on 24 August led by General of Division Jean-Joseph Sahuguet and General of Brigade Claude Dallemagne pressed the Austrian garrison back into the fortress. On 26 August orders arrived from Emperor Francis II to immediately attempt a relief of the fortress of Mantua. Würmsers new chief-of-staff, Feldmarschall-Leutnant Franz von Lauer therefore drew up plans for an offensive, the division of Feldmarschall-Leutnant Johann Mészáros near Bassano was reinforced to 10,700 troops. Würmser would lead two divisions from Trento into the Brenta River valley and this route went east, then south to reach Bassano. From that location, the Austrians would turn southwest, join Mészáros, the 17, 300-man Mantua garrison was sent orders to stage attacks on the besiegers when the relief army drew close. Feldmarschall-Leutnant Davidovich with 19,600 troops defended Trento, if the French forces facing him weakened, he was to move south on Mantua. Lauer noted that the French army, had suffered badly during the recent combats, however, he drew some dangerous conclusions from this. Lauer confidently predicted that the French army would remain long enough for the Austrian relief effort to get well underway. In fact, the French government approved a strategy that sent the Army of Italy north across the Brenner Pass to link with General of Division Jean Moreaus army in Bavaria. His remaining 13,500 men covered the blockade of Mantua, the 4, 100-man division Feldmarschall-Leutnant Karl Philipp Sebottendorf moved out on 1 September. It was soon followed by Feldmarschall-Leutnant Peter Quasdanovichs 4,600 soldiers, Davidovich controlled 19,555 troops, but only 13,695 of these were immediately available

17.
Battle of Bassano
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The engagement occurred during the second Austrian attempt to raise the Siege of Mantua. The Austrians abandoned their artillery and baggage, losing supplies, cannons, the first relief of Mantua failed at the battles of Lonato and Castiglione in early August. The defeat caused Wurmser to retreat north up the Adige River valley, meanwhile, the French reinvested the Austrian garrison of Mantua. Ordered by Emperor Francis II to relieve Mantua at once, Feldmarschall Wurmser, leaving FML Paul Davidovich and 13,700 soldiers to defend Trento and the approaches to the County of Tyrol, Wurmser directed two divisions east then south down the Brenta valley. When he joined the division of Johann Mészáros at Bassano. From Bassano, Wurmser would move on Mantua, while Davidovich probed the defenses from the north. Lauer predicted that the French, having suffered recent losses, would be unable to react in time, unknown to the Austrians, the French government desired that General Bonaparte cross the Alps to join the army of General Jean Moreau in southern Germany. See Bassano 1796 Campaign Order of Battle for a list of French, in 1796, there were only three practicable routes between Trento and the Po River basin. The first route lay west of Lake Garda, the second route was the road down the Adige valley east of Lake Garda and north of Verona. The third route went east through Levico Terme and Borgo Valsugana, an army that held both Trento and Bassano could move troops and supplies between the two places free from French interference. Bonaparte posted General of Division Claude Vaubois with 10,000 men on the west side of Lake Garda, General of Division André Masséna defended the Adige River valley with 13,000 troops and General of Division Pierre Augereau covered Verona with 10,000 more. General of Division Charles Kilmaine maintained the blockade of Mantua with General of Division Jean Sahuguets division of 8,000 soldiers and held a 2,000 man reserve at Verona. Another source gave Vaubois 11,000, Massena 13,000, Augereau 9,000, Sahuguet 10,000, more importantly, his spy Francesco Toli had penetrated Austrian headquarters and forewarned Bonaparte that Wurmser had left Davidovich at Trento. So, Bonaparte struck first, sending Masséna and Augereau north toward Trento, meanwhile, Vaubois advanced past Lake Idro to Riva at the north end of Lake Garda. Vaubois and Masséna converged on Rovereto on the Adige, at the Battle of Rovereto on 4 September, the French routed Davidovichs outnumbered troops, inflicting 3,000 casualties at a cost of 750 killed and wounded. Finding that Wurmser had moved toward Bassano, Bonaparte abandoned the plan to link with Moreau, leaving Vaubois to observe the fleeing Austrians in the upper Adige valley, the French army commander decided to take a bold but risky course of action. Cutting loose from his line, he ordered Augereau, followed by Masséna. On 7 September, Augereaus 8,200 soldiers overwhelmed the 2,800 to 4,000 Austrians of Wurmsers rear guard at Primolano, capturing 1,500 men, the victorious French then followed the valley as it turned south toward Bassano

18.
Second Battle of Bassano
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The Second Battle of Bassano on 6 November 1796, saw a Habsburg Austrian army commanded by Jozsef Alvinczi fight Napoleon Bonapartes French Army of Italy. The Austrians repulsed persistent French attacks in a struggle in both sides suffered heavy losses. The action was part of the relief of the Siege of Mantua during the War of the First Coalition. See the Arcola 1796 Campaign Order of Battle for a list of the units of both armies. After the battle Würmser elected to dash for Mantua and he reached the place safely only to have his 12,000 remaining soldiers driven into the fortress by the French on 15 September. Within six weeks 4,000 Austrians died of disease or wounds in the overcrowded city, kaiser Francis II of Austria appointed Feldzeugmeister Alvinczi to assemble a new field army and mount the third relief of Mantua. Alvinczi, Feldmarschall-Leutnant Paul Davidovich, General-Major Johann Rudolph Sporck, and Major Franz von Weyrother planned the new operation, Alvinczi accompanied the 28, 000-strong Friaul Corps, led by Feldmarschall-Leutnant Peter Vitus von Quosdanovich, as it advanced from the Piave River toward the west. Feldmarschall-Leutnant Paul Davidovich led the 19, 000-man Tyrol Corps, which was in the upper Adige River valley, davidovichs column began moving at the end of October. On 2 November, his corps clashed with Vaubois outnumbered division near Cembra in the north, by 5 November Davidovich pushed the French out of Trento. On 1 November, the Friaul Corps began crossing the Piave, in the face of Alvinczis westward advance, Massena pulled out of Bassano early on 4 November. General-Major Friedrich of Hohenzollern-Hechingens advance guard occupied the town. Feldmarschall-Leutnant Giovanni Provera with two brigades reached the Brenta farther south near Fontaniva to form Alvinczis left flank, Bonaparte determined to attack the Austrians and called for Augereau and Macquard to join Masséna in resisting Alvinczi on the Brenta. Bonaparte accompanied Augereaus division as it advanced north-east from Vicenza to Bassano, Masséna took a more southerly road and clashed with the Austrian left wing at Fontaniva late on 5 November. General-major Anton Lipthay pulled his troops back to the east side of the river and this set the stage for the battle, which began on 6 November. Masséna attacked Lipthays brigade at Fontaniva, from morning until 6 p. m. the French mounted as many as ten assaults on the Austrian generals four battalions, with heavy losses on both sides. Injured when his horse fell on him, Lipthay resolutely remained at his post. Early in the morning Hohenzollern crossed the Brenta, followed by Quasdanovichs right wing and this wing included General-Major Anton Ferdinand Mittrowskys brigade, which recently joined the army by descending the Brenta valley. The Austrians anchored their right flank in the Alpine foothills while their left flank curved back to touch the Brenta, Augereaus division began to arrive in the area in mid-morning and attacked Bassano in the early afternoon before all the Austrians crossed the river

19.
Battle of Arcole
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The battle saw a bold maneuver by Napoleon Bonapartes French Army of Italy to outflank the Austrian army led by József Alvinczi and cut off its line of retreat. The French victory proved to be a significant event during the third Austrian attempt to lift the Siege of Mantua. Alvinczi planned to execute an offensive against Bonapartes army. The Austrian commander ordered Paul Davidovich to advance south along the Adige River valley with one corps while Alvinczi led the army in an advance from the east. The Austrians hoped to raise the siege of Mantua where Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser was trapped with a large garrison, if the two Austrian columns linked up and if Wurmsers troops were released, French prospects were grim. Davidovich scored a victory against Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois at Calliano, meanwhile, Alvinczi repulsed one attack by Bonaparte at Bassano and advanced almost to the gates of Verona where he defeated a second French attack at Caldiero. Leaving Vaubois battered division to contain Davidovich, Bonaparte massed every available man, for two days the French assaulted the stoutly defended Austrian position at Arcole without success. Their persistent attacks finally forced Alvinczi to withdraw on the third day and that day Davidovich routed Vaubois, but it was too late. Bonapartes victory at Arcole permitted him to concentrate against Davidovich and chase him up the Adige valley, left alone, Alvinczi threatened Verona again. But without his colleagues support, the Austrian commander was too weak to continue the campaign, Wurmser attempted a breakout, but his effort came too late in the campaign and had no effect on the result. The third relief attempt failed by the narrowest of margins, see Arcola 1796 Campaign Order of Battle for a detailed list of French and Austrian units. The second relief attempt of the Siege of Mantua ended badly for Austria when General Napoleon Bonaparte routed Feldmarschall Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmsers army at the Battle of Bassano, in the sequel, Wurmser marched for Mantua, evading French attempts to cut him off. He reached there with 16,000 soldiers on 12 September 1796, with Wurmsers Austrians and the original garrison crowded into the encircled city, disease and hunger began exacting a serious toll on the garrison. Emperor Francis II of Austria appointed Feldzeugmeister József Alvinczi to lead a field army in the third attempt to relieve Mantua. Alvinczi, Feldmarschall-Leutnant Paul Davidovich, General-major Johann Rudolf Sporck, the Friaul Corps was assigned to Feldmarschall-Leutnant Peter Vitus von Quosdanovich and directed to move west toward Verona. The Tyrol Corps was entrusted to Davidovich and ordered to advance south from the Alps to join Quosdanovich, Wurmser would break out from Mantua and attack the French field armies in the rear. Quosdanovichs 26, 432-strong Friaul Corps was accompanied by Alvinczi as it moved west on Mantua from the Piave River, there were 54 line and 20 reserve artillery pieces with the Friaul Corps. On 1 November 1796, Davidovichs Tyrol Corps numbered 18,427 infantry and 1,049 cavalry, the corps was split into six brigade-size columns under Generals-major Johann Loudon, Joseph Ocskay von Ocsko, Sporck, and Josef Philipp Vukassovich and Colonel Seulen

20.
Battle of Rivoli
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The Battle of Rivoli was a key victory in the French campaign in Italy against Austria. Napoleon Bonapartes 23,000 Frenchmen defeated an attack of 28,000 Austrians under Feldzeugmeister Jozsef Alvinczi, ending Austrias fourth, Rivoli further demonstrated Napoleons brilliance as a military commander and led to French occupation of northern Italy. See Rivoli 1797 Campaign Order of Battle, Alvinczi attacked Jouberts 10,000 men on January 12. However Joubert held him off and was joined by Louis-Alexandre Berthier and. The battle would be a contest between Alvinczis efforts to concentrate his dispersed columns versus the arrival of French reinforcements, the morning of Saturday January 14, found Alvinczi engaging the division of Joubert. Before daybreak as the French were moving on the road from Rivoli to Incanale Joubert attacked, at 9 a. m. the Austrian brigades of Samuel Koblos and Anton Lipthay counterattacked the French forces on the Trambasore Heights. Another column under Prince Heinrich of Reuss-Plauen attempted to turn the French right via the Rivoli gorge, meanwhile, on the French right flank, Vukassovich had advanced down the east bank of the Adige and had established batteries opposite Osteria. The fire of his guns and the pressure from Quosdanovich forced the French out of the village of Osteria, by about 11 a. m. the position of Bonaparte was becoming desperate, an Austrian column under Lusignan was cutting off his retreat south of Rivoli. To reopen his line of retreat Bonaparte turned to Massenas 18th Demi-brigade, meanwhile, Alvinczi was on the Trambasore Heights urging his victorious battalions forward, though they were unformed by combat and rough terrain. With the 18th dispatched to check Lusignan, Bonaparte turned all his attention to Quosdanovich and he understood the defeat of this column was the key to the battle. Unfortunately the French had very few left and mostly had to accomplish this with troops already at hand. A battery of 15 French guns were massed and poured canister shot at point blank range into the advancing Austrian column that was emerging from the gorge and this devastating firepower struck first on the advancing Austrian dragoons who broke and stampeded through their own infantry causing mass chaos. At this juncture the brigade of Charles Leclerc assaulted the column frontally while Joubert laid down heavy flanking fire from San Marco, here Antoine Charles de Lasalle with just 26 horseman of the 22nd Horse Chasseurs charged into the melee. Lasalles men captured a whole Austrian battalion and seized 5 enemy flags, in the centre the battle was not yet won, Joseph Ocskay renewed his attack from San Marco and drove back Honoré Vials brigade. But at midday French cavalry under Joachim Murat charged the flanks of Ocskays troops, Quosdanovich realized he could not force the defile and ordered his troops to fall back out of artillery range. Meanwhile, while Lusignan was being engaged frontally by the brigade of Guillaume Brune, the division of Gabriel Rey, coming up from Castelnuovo and they crushed the Austrian column of Lusignan who fled west with less than 2,000 men remaining. The French lost 3,200 killed and wounded and 1,000 captured, while the Austrians suffered 4,000 killed and wounded, one authority gives the French 5,000 and the Austrians 14,000 total losses. The next day Joubert and Ray began a pursuit of Alvinczi, all but destroying his columns

21.
Battle of Valvasone (1797)
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The Battle of Valvasone saw a First French Republic army led by Napoleon Bonaparte attack a Habsburg Austrian army led by Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen. The Austrian army fought a rear guard action at the crossing of the Tagliamento River but was defeated, the next day, a French division cut off and captured an Austrian column in the Capitulation of Gradisca. The actions occurred during the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars, Valvasone is located on the west bank of the Tagliamento 20 kilometres southwest of Udine, Italy. Gradisca dIsonzo lies on the Isonzo River 14 kilometres southwest of Gorizia, Bonaparte saw the Siege of Mantua to a successful conclusion when Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser surrendered on 2 February 1797. The French commander cleared his south flank by Claude Perrin Victors victory over the Papal States at the Battle of Faenza the following day, meanwhile, Emperor Francis II of Austria recalled Archduke Charles from Germany to hold northeast Italy. In March Bonaparte launched an offensive designed to break through the Austrian armys defenses, at Valvasone, the French encountered part of their opponents army and drove it back. For the loss of 500 men, the French inflicted 700 casualties on the Austrians, the following day, Jean-Baptiste Bernadottes French division isolated an enemy column and forced its surrender at Gradisca dIsonzo. A total of 2,500 Austrian soldiers,10 artillery pieces, when several retreating Austrian columns made for the Tarvis Pass to the northeast, the French raced to cut them off. The Battle of Tarvis occurred over three days beginning on 21 March as the Austrians struggled to escape, bonapartes forward thrust carried his army within 75 miles of Vienna, where the Preliminaries of Leoben were concluded in mid-April 1797

22.
Battle of Tarvis (1797)
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The engagement occurred during the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. Tarvisio today is located in far northeast Italy,27 kilometres southwest of Villach, after his capture of the fortress of Mantua in early February 1797, Bonaparte cleared his south flank by crushing the army of the Papal States. Reinforced from the Rhine front, he determined to drive the Austrian army from northeast Italy and his offensive began in March and consisted of a secondary drive through the County of Tyrol by Barthélemy Catherine Jouberts left wing and an eastward thrust by Bonapartes main army. The main French army soon drove the forces into headlong retreat while Joubert battled Wilhelm Lothar Maria von Kerpen in the Tyrol. Charles tried to hold the Tarvis Pass against the French by sending three columns of reinforcements and they found the pass held by Masséna and many troops fought their way out. However, the last column was trapped between three converging French divisions and compelled to surrender, a subsequent advance brought the French within 75 miles of the Austrian capital of Vienna. In mid-April, Bonaparte proposed and the Austrians agreed to the Preliminaries of Leoben, most of the terms were ratified by the Treaty of Campo Formio in October 1797, ending the long war. On 2 February 1797, the Siege of Mantua ended when Feldmarschall Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser surrendered the fortress of Mantua, in recognition of his doughty defense, Wurmser, his staff, and an escort of 700 soldiers were allowed free passage to Austrian lines. An additional 20,000 Austrians were paroled on the promise that they would not fight against France until exchanged, the siege cost the garrison 16,333 killed, wounded, or died of disease. The French captured 325 artillery pieces in Mantua and recovered 179 of their own guns that were lost earlier in the siege, General of Division Napoleon Bonaparte was not present for the capitulation, having left a few days earlier to press the war against the Papal States. Following instructions from Bonaparte, General of Division Jean-Mathieu-Philibert Sérurier refused to amend the initial French surrender proposals, at length, Wurmser caved in and accepted Bonapartes terms. Columns of disarmed Austrians marched out of Mantua on 4,5, but important events were already taking place elsewhere. For the loss of only 100 men, the French inflicted 800 killed and wounded on their enemies and captured 1,200 soldiers,14 guns,8 colors, on 9 February, the 1, 200-man Papal garrison of Ancona surrendered to Victor. Bonaparte soon forced the Pope to agree to the Treaty of Tolentino, by this instrument the Papal States were compelled to disgorge 30 million francs. In 1796, the campaign in Germany received the share of French reinforcements. After a significant lack of success in theater, the French government belatedly decided to send troops to Italy. Generals of Division Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte and Antoine Guillaume Delmas were transferred to Italy with their divisions, the new Austrian commander in Italy, Feldmarschall Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen had 50,000 troops, but they were distributed over a wide front. Bonaparte was determined to attack Charles before the Austrians were ready, having 60,000 men available, Bonaparte planned to attack through Friuli with two-thirds of these troops

23.
Veronese Easter
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They are so-called due to association with the Sicilian Vespers. The revolt ended on 25 April 1797 with the encirclement and capture of the town by 15,000 soldiers, the movements followers were numerous, with sources talking of at least 280,000 insurgents and 70,000 dead. These revolts were primarily against French domination Jacobin-inspired French political ideology, the French troops arrived in Verona on 1 June 1796, occupying the military strong-points and billeting troops in other buildings despite the Republic of Venice already having declared its neutrality. Bergamo, in contrast, resisted the French invasion, the French general, however, did not lower the flags of San Marco, given that this city too was officially under Venetian control. When secret information of this reached Ottolini, he immediately informed Venices provveditore, Francesco Battaia, hesitating to follow up his actions with force, replied that Ottolini should double-check if this information was true. Thanks to a spy, Ottolini quickly confirmed Napoleons intentions, the work of democratising Bergamao was initiated by François Joseph Lefebvre, the successor to Baraguay dHilliers, but there were too few Jacobin locals. These representatives protested but were obliged to assent, Ottolini had in the meantime recalled some military companies from the provinces, and the French used this action as a pretext for occupying the city. Bergamo thus officially became the first city in the Veneto removed from Venices rule, in the meantime, Napoleon set off to march on Vienna via the defiles of Carinthia, ultimately ending up in Leoben negotiating a treaty with Austria. The next step would have to be the democratisation of Brescia, on 16 March, a column of soldiers left for Brescia. Its podestà, Giovanni Alvise Mocenigo, wished to attack this hostile column but was stopped from doing so by Battaia, two days later 200 men entered Brescia and, with the aid of Brescian Jacobins, put down what little resistance was offered. Their first act after gaining the city was to hunt down Battaia, although lacking the support of the population, with French help the Jacobins succeeded in democratising the countryside and the town of Crema. The provveditore Battaia arrived at Verona on 22 March, and immediately called a meeting of the council, Battaia urged caution, but conte Emilei noted that passive resistance had already lost them Brescia, and that Veronas citizens were ready to take up arms against the Jacobin Lombards. Meanwhile, conte Augusto Verità had returned to Verona, always enjoying good relations with the French, he proposed to get an assurance of French neutrality before the Veronese forces clashed with the Jacobins. Bonaparte agreed with Ballands decision, and informed the Venetian senate that French troops would not intervene, Ballands response to the letter aroused Veronas inhabitants to great enthusiasm for defending their own territory. On 23 March news reached Verona that 500 Jacobin soldiers headed for Peschiera del Garda or Valeggio sul Mincio had set out from Brescia - the officials and troops rushed to take up their positions. Miniscalchi went to Colà, a village above the hills of Lazise, Giusti to Povegliano Veronese, Bevilacqua to Cerea. From Valeggio Maffei could see that the troops were still not in sight. 24 fanti coming from Brescia also joined his force, as well as 40 Croatian cavalrymen and 2 cannons coming from Verona, on 27 March he decided to send off a scouting party, whilst at Castelnuovo del Garda 1,500 volunteers gathered

24.
Battle of Verona (1799)
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Battle of Verona on 26 March 1799 saw a Habsburg Austrian army under Pál Kray fight a First French Republic army led by Barthélemy Louis Joseph Schérer. The battle encompassed three separate combats on the same day, at Verona, the two sides battled to a bloody draw. At Pastrengo to the west of Verona, French forces prevailed over their Austrian opponents, at Legnago to the southeast of Verona, the Austrians defeated their French adversaries. The battle was fought during the War of the Second Coalition, Verona is a city on the Adige River in northern Italy. At Pastrengo, the French lost 1,000 killed, wounded, in addition, the French captured 1,500 men,12 guns, two pontoon bridges, and two colors. The Schröder Infantry Regiment Nr.27 lost particularly serious casualties, at Verona, French losses numbered 1,500 killed and wounded plus 300 men and three guns captured out of a total of 14,500 men. The Austrians counted 1,600 killed and wounded and 1,100 captured out of 16,400 troops, Generals Konrad Valentin von Kaim, Ferdinand Minkwitz, and Anton Lipthay de Kisfalud were wounded. The contest at Legnago cost the French 2,000 killed and wounded and 600 men and 14 guns captured out of 9,500 men, General of Brigade François Felix Vignes was killed. The Austrians lost 700 killed and wounded and 100 captured out of 14,000 soldiers, Lipthay never recovered from his wounds and died on 17 February 1800 at Padua. The 1799 Campaign in Italy, The Left Wing - led directly by General Schérer, the 1799 Campaign in Italy, Austrian defence of Verona - March 24th 1799. The 1799 Campaign in Italy, Battle of Verona - March 26,1799, the 1799 Campaign in Italy, Verona Defense March 26,1799. The 1799 Campaign in Italy, Austrian Deployment Approaching the Legnago Battle, biographical Dictionary of All Austrian Generals during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, 1792-1815

25.
Battle of Cassano (1799)
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The Battle of Cassano dAdda was fought on 27 April 1799 near Cassano dAdda, about 28 km ENE of Milan. It resulted in a victory for the Austrians and Russians under Alexander Suvorov over Jean Moreaus French army, the action took place during the War of the Second Coalition during the larger conflict known as the French Revolutionary Wars. While General Napoleon Bonaparte campaigned in Egypt, the Second Coalition launched an invasion of French-occupied Italy, General of Division Barthélemy Schérer fought inconclusive actions the Austrians at Pastrengo, Verona, and Legnago on 26 March 1799. Feldmarschal-Leutnant Pál Kray and his Austrians then defeated Schérer at the Battle of Magnano on April 4th and this defeat forced the French army into a long retreat. Attempts by Schérer to hold the lines of the Mincio and Oglio rivers failed when an Austrian force led by FML Josef Vukassovich turned his northern flank, Schérer, completely out of his depth, handed over army command to the more capable MG Moreau. Austrias Russian allies, led by Suvorov, soon began appearing at the front, when Field Marshal Suvorov joined the allied army, he took over the top command from Kray, though the latter had just been promoted to Feldzeugmeister. The arrival of General of Cavalry Michael von Melas displaced Kray the top Austrian field command, therefore, Kray was assigned to capture the fortress of Mantua, while Melas and Suvorov pursued the French. The Siege of Mantua lasted from April until the garrison surrendered on 28 July, Moreau deployed the divisions of MGs Paul Grenier, Claude Victor, Jean Sérurier, and Pierre de Laboissière to defend the line of the Adda River. The Austrians still made up the bulk of the allied army, the Austrian division commanders were FML Peter Ott, FML Johann Zoph, General-Major Franz de Lusignan, and FML Konrad Valentin von Kaim. Even before the battle, a Russian force under Petr Bagration outflanked the French position by seizing a bridge over the Adda at Lecco on 26 April and this put Séruriers division in an awkward position. On 27 April, General of Cavalry Michael von Melas with the divisions of Fröhlich and Kaim stormed the French positions at Cassano, while Ott, suvarovs assault forced Moreau to retreat. The French suffered 2,500 killed and wounded, plus 5,000 soldiers,27 cannon, the Austro-Russians lost 2,000 killed and wounded. Moreau retreated, leaving a 2, 400-man garrison in Milans citadel, on 28 April, Vukassovich trapped Seruriers division at Verderio and the French lost another 300 killed and wounded, plus 2,700 captured. Greniers division withdrew to Novara while Victor and Laboissière pulled back to Valenza, another authority gives allied losses as 6,000 and French prisoners as 7,000, without listing French killed and wounded. Kaim pressed on to capture Turin on 20 June, Milans citadel capitulated on 24 May. The next major action was the Battle of Trebbia on 17–20 June, ISBN 1-85367-276-9 The Austrians Advance by Enrico Acerbi

26.
Battle of Trebbia (1799)
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The War of the Second Coalition engagement occurred west of Piacenza, a city located 70 kilometres southeast of Milan. In the spring of 1799 the Austrian and Russian armies ousted the French from much of northern Italy after the battles of Magnano and Cassano, assembling the French occupation forces of southern and central Italy into an army, MacDonald moved north to challenge his enemies. Rather than playing safe by moving along the west coast road, MacDonald boldly chose to move east of the Apennine Mountains, after brushing aside a much smaller Austrian force at Modena, MacDonalds army swept west along the south bank of the Po River. Suvorov swiftly concentrated his Russians and the allied Austrians of Michael von Melas to block the French move, on 17 July, the leading French divisions bumped into a holding force led by Peter Karl Ott von Bátorkéz along the Tidone River. Ott was rapidly reinforced by the bulk of the Austro-Russian army, Suvorov attacked on the 18th but the outnumbered French managed to hold off the Allied drive. On 19 June MacDonalds entire army was concentrated and he ordered an attack which was coordinated and repulsed at all points. Realizing that assistance from Moreau was not forthcoming, that night MacDonald ordered the beaten French army to slip away to the south, on the 20th the Allies overran a French demi brigade acting as rear guard. Instead of bringing a powerful reinforcement to the hard-pressed French in northwest Italy, only the remains of MacDonalds army arrived. Due to participation of some 3,000 soldiers of the Polish Legions, the defeat was a crushing blow to French morale and prompted Schérer to plead with the French Directory to be relieved of command. Two days later, Alexander Suvorov arrived at Vicenza with a Imperial Russian army, on 27 April, the Coalition allies led by Suvorov were victorious over Jean Victor Marie Moreaus French army at the Battle of Cassano along the Adda River. The next day at Verderio, Jean-Mathieu-Philibert Séruriers division was surrounded, the defeats caused Moreau to fall back, leaving 2,400 men to hold the Milan citadel. On 6 May the garrison of Peschiera capitulated to Kray while on 11 May Pizzighettone and 1,500 French soldiers surrendered to Konrad Valentin von Kaim, on 12 May, Suvorovs subordinate Andrei Grigorevich Rosenberg suffered a minor setback in the Battle of Bassignana. Ferrara, Ravenna and Milan all capitulated to Austrian besieging forces on 24 May, meanwhile,30,000 Allies under Suvorov moved up the north bank of the Po River toward Turin. On the morning of 26 May, Josef Philipp Vukassovichs advance guard seized Turin with its arsenal, pascal Antoine Fiorella and his 3, 400-man French garrison withdrew to the citadel where they were besieged. Early June found the Allied main body of 47,087 troops under Suvorov, Rosenberg, Karl Joseph Hadik von Futak with 9,900 Austrians watched the Swiss mountain passes. Krays 19, 760-man corps was engaged in the Siege of Mantua, finally, Suvorov summoned the 19, 458-strong corps of Count Heinrich von Bellegarde from Switzerland to Milan where they arrived on 5 June. But the Allies were aware that Jacques MacDonald had a strong French occupation force in southern, on 14 April 1799, the French Directory ordered MacDonald to help the French forces in northern Italy. Accordingly, he assembled the Army of Naples and moved north, MacDonald reached Rome on 16 May and Florence ten days later

27.
Battle of Novi (1799)
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The Battle of Novi saw a combined army of Habsburg Austrians and Imperial Russians under Field Marshal Alexander Suvorov attack a Republican French army under General Barthélemy Catherine Joubert. After a prolonged and bloody struggle, the Austro-Russians broke through the French defenses, Joubert was killed while French division commanders Catherine-Dominique de Pérignon and Emmanuel Grouchy were captured. Novi Ligure is located in the province of Piedmont in Italy a distance of 58 kilometres north of Genoa, the battle occurred during the War of the Second Coalition which was part of the French Revolutionary Wars. In 1799, Russian and Austrian forces swept across the Po River valley, the French troops in Italy were badly defeated at the major battles of Magnano, Cassano and the Trebbia. Subsequently, French and Cisalpine Italian troops retreated into Genoa and the Ligurian Republic, a new French government placed Joubert in command of the reformed Army of Italy and ordered him to take the offensive. Accordingly, the French army moved north across the mountain crests, to Jouberts dismay, it was clear that large Coalition forces were nearby. The next morning Paul Krays Austrian corps assaulted the French left flank, after a delay, Suvorov committed a Russian corps to attack the center and Michael von Melas Austrian corps to attack the French right flank. Krays troops suffered losses but by evening the French army was badly beaten. However, the Coalition planners proceeded to throw away their advantage by sending Suvorovs Russians to Switzerland, the 1799 campaign in Italy began with the Battle of Verona, a series of costly but indecisive clashes around Verona on 26 March. At the Battle of Magnano on 5 April, the Habsburg Austrian army of Paul Kray triumphed over the Republican French army of Barthélemy Louis Joseph Schérer, two days later, a distraught Schérer begged to be relieved of command. Michael von Melas arrived to command of the Austrian army from Kray on 9 April. Hearing that 12,000 Austrians were approaching from the Tyrol to the north, leaving 12,000 troops in the fortress of Mantua and 1,600 more in Peschiera del Garda, the demoralized French commander ordered his crippled army to withdraw. As the soldiers back, the skies opened up and turned the retreat into a sodden nightmare. On 15 April 1799, the veteran Russian field marshal Alexander Suvorov formally took command of the combined Austro-Russian army in Italy, on 27 April Suvorov defeated the French, now under Jean Victor Marie Moreau, at the Battle of Cassano. The Allies suffered 2,000 casualties while the French sustained losses of 2,500 killed and wounded plus 5,000 soldiers,27 guns, the next day a 3, 000-man French division was trapped and surrendered at Verderio Superiore. The next major action was the Battle of Trebbia from 17 to 20 June where Suvorovs 37, 000-strong Austro-Russian army mauled Jacques MacDonalds 33, the Allies suffered 5,500 casualties while inflicting 16,500 on the French including the taking of 7,000 prisoners. Meanwhile, Coalition forces successfully besieged a number of key fortresses, Peschiera fell on 6 May, Milan was captured on 24 May and Turin fell on 20 June after a nine-day siege. Suvorov and his Austrian allies had evicted the French from almost all of Italy, while Archduke Charles, a day after defeating MacDonald at the Trebbia, the Allies captured the 17th Light Demi Brigade,1,099 men, six guns and three colors

28.
Battle of Montebello (1800)
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The Battle of Montebello was fought on 9 June 1800 near Montebello in Lombardy. During the lead-up to the Battle of Marengo, the vanguard of the French army in Italy engaged and defeated an Austrian force in a glorious victory, napoleons capture of Milan on 2 June found the Austrian army separated into three major and several minor concentrations. To the east of Milan, FML Josef Philipp Vukassovich had 4,000 men, South of the Po River, FML Andreas OReilly von Ballinlough marched east toward Piacenza with 3,000 men. Strong garrisons manned the fortresses of Alessandria, Coni and Casale, Melas believed he had plenty of time to mass his army and launch a counter-offensive north from Piacenza. General of Division Jean Lannes moved south from Milan with his corps, seizing Pavia on 3 June and being initially repulsed by Piacenzas tiny 400-man garrison. In a series of operations on 6 June, Generals of Division Joachim Murat, Murat then overran Piacenza while Lannes pushed OReilly back to the west. These actions placed French forces directly on the main Austrian line of communication between Alessandria and Mantua in the strategic Stradella defile, meanwhile, Murat captured a set of Austrian dispatches that disclosed that Genoa had fallen. Confronted with a new situation, Napoleon issued orders to press the Austrians, on 7 June, Otts column was marching north from Genoa. Otts corps reached Voghera at 8 pm on 8 June to join OReilly, a patrol reported French troops to the east. Ott directed OReilly with six battalions and four cavalry squadrons to defend the village of Casteggio on the main east-west highway. Meanwhile, the French army became overextended, Lannes planned to continue marching west. This would bring his 8,000 men into contact with Otts corps of 18,000, French Forces, Lannes Corps, Lannes Division, Watrin 6th Light, 22nd Line, 40th Line. Melas chief-of-staff, General-Major Anton von Zach was on the scene, Watrin aggressively fed his units into the battle, but found his three demi-brigades, two batteries and one cavalry regiment opposed by a superior force. Ott disposed of 26 infantry battalions and 15 cavalry squadrons, for five hours, the outnumbered French soldiers tried to break the Austrian position. Twice they seized Casteggio, but were out by OReillys troops. Attempts to flank the Austrian left were repulsed by the Lobkowitz Dragoons, the 12th Hussars charged repeatedly to keep the French infantry from being overrun by the Austrian dragoons. Nine Austrian battalions defended a hill to the south of the village while, the French received some help when the Consular Guards three field pieces and other units arrived. As Lannes command neared their breaking point at about 1,00 pm, despite intense Austrian artillery fire, the combined pressure forced back Otts tired soldiers and convinced that general to order a phased withdrawal

29.
Battle of Marengo
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The Battle of Marengo was fought on 14 June 1800 between French forces under Napoleon Bonaparte and Austrian forces near the city of Alessandria, in Piedmont, Italy. Surprised by the Austrian advance toward Genoa in mid-April 1800, Bonaparte had hastily led his army over the Alps in mid-May, initially, their two assaults across the Fontanone stream near Marengo village were repelled, and General Jean Lannes reinforced the French right. Bonaparte realised the true position and issued orders at 11,00 am to recall the detachment under Général de Division Louis Desaix, on the Austrian left, Ott’s column had taken Castel Ceriolo, and its advance guard moved south to attack Lannes’s flank. Melas renewed the assault and the Austrians broke the central French position. By 2,30 pm the French were withdrawing and Austrian dragoons seized the Marengo farm, Bonaparte had by then arrived with the reserve, but Berthier’s troops began to fall back on the main vine belts. Knowing Desaix was approaching, Bonaparte was anxious about a column of Ott’s soldiers marching from the north, the French then withdrew steadily eastward toward San Giuliano Vecchio as the Austrians formed a column to follow them in line with Ott’s advance in the northern sector. The French casualties were considerably fewer, but included Desaix, the whole French line chased after the Austrians to seal une victoire politique that secured Bonaparte’s grip on power after the coup. It would be followed by a campaign, which sought to rewrite the story of the battle three times during Napoleon’s rule. The Battle of Marengo was the victory that sealed the success of Bonapartes Italian campaign of 1800 and is best understood in the context of that campaign. By a daring crossing of the Alps with his Army of the Reserve in mid-May 1800 almost before the passes were open, Bonaparte had threatened Melass lines of communications in northern Italy. The French army then seized Milan on 2 June, followed by Pavia, Piacenza and Stradella, Lombardy, Bonaparte hoped that Melass preoccupation with the Siege of Genoa, held by General André Masséna, would prevent the Austrians from responding to his offensive. However, Genoa surrendered on 4 June, freeing a number of Austrians for operations against the French. On 9 June, General Jean Lannes beat Feldmarschallleutnant Peter Ott in the Battle of Montebello and this caused Bonaparte to become overconfident. He became convinced that Melas would not attack, and further, as other French forces closed from the west and south, the Austrian commander had withdrawn most of his troops from their positions near Nice and Genoa to Alessandria on the main Turin-Mantua road. Ott arrived from Montebello of 13 June in a war council, nonetheless, by abandoning the San Giuliano plain, where the superior Austrian cavalry could have given him an edge, Melas probably made a serious mistake. Bonaparte knew that Ott had no way out from Alessandria, Victor then deployed divisional generals Gaspard Amédée Gardanne and Jacques-Antoine de Chambarlhac de Laubespins divisions along the Fontanone stream. The battle took place to the east of Alessandria, on a plain crossed by a river forming meanders, on the plain were spread numerous hamlets and farms which represented strategic points. The three main sites of the battle formed a triangle, with Marengo in the west, Castel Ceriolo in the north, a small stream, the Fontanone, passed between Marengo and the Bormida

Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars
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The War of the First Coalition broke out in autumn 1792, when several European powers formed an alliance against Republican France. The first major operation was the annexation of Nice by 30,000 French troops and this was reversed in mid-1793, when the Republican forces were withdrawn to deal with a revolt in Lyon, triggering a counter-invasion of

French Revolutionary Wars
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The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of sweeping military conflicts, lasting from 1792 until 1802, resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted the French First Republic against Britain, Austria and several other monarchies and they are divided in two periods, the War of the First Coalition and the War of the Second Coalition. Initially

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The Battle of Valmy

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Anonymous caricature depicting the treatment given to the Brunswick Manifesto by the French population

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While the First Coalition attacked the new Republic, France faced civil war and counterrevolutionary guerrilla war. Here, several insurgents of the Chouannerie have been taken prisoner.

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General Jourdan at the battle of Fleurus, 26 June 1794

Battle of Saorgio (1793)
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The local Sardinian commander in the Maritime Alps was Charles-François Thaon, Count of Saint-André. Saorge is now located in France about 70 kilometres northeast of Nice, in April 1794 the French seized the positions from the Austro-Sardinians in the Second Battle of Saorgio. The winter of 1792 found two French armies facing the Kingdom of Sardini

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Fort de La Forca on the Massif de l’Authion

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Count of Saint-André

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Raphaël de Casabianca

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Louis Fréron

Battle of Epierre
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Under the overall leadership of the Austrian commander in chief Joseph Nikolaus De Vins, Montferrat launched an offensive in August 1793 to recapture Savoy from the French. In September, Kellermann launched a counterattack in which he switched his troops between valleys in order to drive back the Piedmontese. At Épierre, the French under Jean Denis

1.
View of Epierre and the surrounding mountains

Battle of Saorgio
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It was part of a successful French offensive designed to capture strategic positions in the Maritime Alps and Ligurian Alps, and on the Mediterranean coast. Tactical control of the battle was exercised by André Masséna for the French, Saorge is located in France, about 70 kilometres northeast of Nice. At the time of the battle, the town was named S

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Saorge looking north toward the Col de Tende

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King Victor Amadeus III

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Duke of Biron

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Fighting occurred at Utelle on 21 October 1793.

Battle of Loano
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The Battle of Loano occurred on 23–24 November 1795 during the War of the First Coalition. The French Army of Italy led by Barthélemy Schérer defeated the combined Austrian and Sardinian forces under Olivier, in September 1795, General of Division Schérer replaced François Kellermann in command of the Army of Italy. Facing the French were 30,000 Au

1.
Battle of Loano, by Hippolyte Bellangé

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Battle of Loano

Battle of Voltri
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The Battle of Voltri was an engagement occurring on 10 April 1796 during the French Revolutionary Wars and taking place in Voltri, a suburb of Genoa, Italy. The battle saw two Habsburg Austrian columns under the direction of Johann Peter Beaulieu attack a reinforced French brigade under Jean-Baptiste Cervoni. After a skirmish lasting several hours,

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Johann Peter Beaulieu

2.
Antoine Christophe Saliceti

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Map of the Battle of Voltri, 10 April 1796

Battle of Montenotte
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The French won the battle, which was fought near the village of Cairo Montenotte in the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont. The modern town is located in the part of Italy. On 11 April, Argenteau led 3,700 men in several assaults against a French mountaintop redoubt, by the morning of the 12th, Bonaparte concentrated large forces against Argenteaus now-o

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Attack on the redoubt of Monte-Legino by Giuseppe Pietro Bagetti (1764-1831)

Second Battle of Dego
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The Second Battle of Dego was fought on 14 and 15 April 1796 during the French Revolutionary Wars between French forces and Austro-Sardinian forces. The battle was fought near Dego, a hamlet in northwestern Italy, by taking the defences at Dego, the French would control the only road by which the two armies could link with each other. The towns def

1.
Second Battle of Dego

Battle of Ceva
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Augereau assaulted the strong defensive position without success. At the direction of the Sardinian army commander, Feldmarschal-Leutnant Michelangelo Colli, the Montenotte Campaign began on 10 April when Feldzeugmeister Johann Beaulieus Austrian army attacked the extreme right flank of General of Division Napoleon Bonapartes army near Genoa. Bonap

1.
Montenotte Campaign, 14 April 1796

Battle of Fombio
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The Battle of Fombio was fought between the French Army of Italy led by Napoleon Bonaparte and the Austrian army under Feldzeugmeister Johann Peter Beaulieu between 7 and 9 May 1796. It was the strategic point of the campaign, as Bonaparte crossed the Po River at Piacenza in Beaulieus rear. This threat forced the Austrian army to withdraw to the ea

1.
The Battle of Fombio

Battle of Lodi
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The Battle of Lodi was fought on 10 May 1796 between French forces under General Napoleon Bonaparte and an Austrian rear guard led by Karl Philipp Sebottendorf at Lodi, Lombardy. The rear guard was defeated, but the body of Johann Peter Beaulieus Austrian Army had time to retreat. Vukassovich was soon relieved by Gerhard Rosselminis covering force

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General Bonaparte gives his orders, in The Battle of Lodi, by Louis-François, Baron Lejeune

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After seizing the bridge over the Adda, the French defeated the Austrians and proceeded to occupy Milan

Battle of Borghetto
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The Battle of Borghetto, near Valeggio sul Mincio in the Veneto of northern Italy, took place during the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. This action compelled the Austrian army to retreat north up the Adige valley to Trento, in early May, Bonapartes French army won the battles of Fombio and Lodi and overran the Au

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Battle of Borghetto map, 30 May 1796

Battle of Lonato
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The Battle of Lonato was fought on 3 and 4 August 1796 between the French Army of Italy under General Napoleon Bonaparte and a corps-sized Austrian column led by Lieutenant General Peter Quasdanovich. A week of hard-fought actions that began on 29 July and ended on 4 August resulted in the retreat of Quasdanovichs badly mauled force, the eliminatio

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General Bonaparte at the battle of Lonato

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Salò and Lake Garda

Battle of Castiglione
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The Battle of Castiglione saw the French Army of Italy under General Napoleon Bonaparte attack an army of Habsburg Austria led by Feldmarschall Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser on 5 August 1796. The outnumbered Austrians were defeated and driven back along a line of hills to the crossing at Borghetto. The town of Castiglione delle Stiviere is located 1

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5 August 1796, approximately 10 hours. Battle of Castiglione. Under the command of Napoleon, Marmont brings artillery onto Mount Medolano while Augereau's division begins the attack in the central plain.

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Map of the battle

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Monte Medolano

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Sides battle Monte Medolano 1796

Battle of Rovereto
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The battle was fought near the town of Rovereto, in the upper Adige River valley in northern Italy. The action was fought during the relief of the Siege of Mantua. The Austrians left Davidovichs corps in the upper Adige valley while transferring two divisions to Bassano del Grappa by marching east, then south down the Brenta River valley, the Austr

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Battle of Rovereto

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Dagobert von Würmser

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André Masséna

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Battle of Rovereto strategic situation

Battle of Bassano
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The engagement occurred during the second Austrian attempt to raise the Siege of Mantua. The Austrians abandoned their artillery and baggage, losing supplies, cannons, the first relief of Mantua failed at the battles of Lonato and Castiglione in early August. The defeat caused Wurmser to retreat north up the Adige River valley, meanwhile, the Frenc

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The church of San Giovanni on the outskirts of Bassano, Bonaparte's headquarters during the battle

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Battle of Rovereto, 4 Sept 1796

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Battle of Bassano, 8 Sept 1796

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Race for Mantua, 9–15 Sept 1796

Second Battle of Bassano
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The Second Battle of Bassano on 6 November 1796, saw a Habsburg Austrian army commanded by Jozsef Alvinczi fight Napoleon Bonapartes French Army of Italy. The Austrians repulsed persistent French attacks in a struggle in both sides suffered heavy losses. The action was part of the relief of the Siege of Mantua during the War of the First Coalition.

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Siege of Mantua map shows important towns in northern Italy.

Battle of Arcole
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The battle saw a bold maneuver by Napoleon Bonapartes French Army of Italy to outflank the Austrian army led by József Alvinczi and cut off its line of retreat. The French victory proved to be a significant event during the third Austrian attempt to lift the Siege of Mantua. Alvinczi planned to execute an offensive against Bonapartes army. The Aust

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Napoleon Bonaparte leading his troops over the bridge of Arcole, by Horace Vernet.

Battle of Rivoli
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The Battle of Rivoli was a key victory in the French campaign in Italy against Austria. Napoleon Bonapartes 23,000 Frenchmen defeated an attack of 28,000 Austrians under Feldzeugmeister Jozsef Alvinczi, ending Austrias fourth, Rivoli further demonstrated Napoleons brilliance as a military commander and led to French occupation of northern Italy. Se

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Napoleon at the Battle of Rivoli, by Philippoteaux (Galerie des Batailles, Palace of Versailles)

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Map of the battle

Battle of Valvasone (1797)
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The Battle of Valvasone saw a First French Republic army led by Napoleon Bonaparte attack a Habsburg Austrian army led by Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen. The Austrian army fought a rear guard action at the crossing of the Tagliamento River but was defeated, the next day, a French division cut off and captured an Austrian column in the Capitulati

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Battle of Valvasone

Battle of Tarvis (1797)
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The engagement occurred during the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. Tarvisio today is located in far northeast Italy,27 kilometres southwest of Villach, after his capture of the fortress of Mantua in early February 1797, Bonaparte cleared his south flank by crushing the army of the Papal States. Reinforced from the

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The photo of snow skiers shows the terrain near Tarvisio.

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Napoleon Bonaparte

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André Masséna played a key role in trapping the Austrians.

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Archduke Charles proved unable to stop Bonaparte's offensive.

Veronese Easter
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They are so-called due to association with the Sicilian Vespers. The revolt ended on 25 April 1797 with the encirclement and capture of the town by 15,000 soldiers, the movements followers were numerous, with sources talking of at least 280,000 insurgents and 70,000 dead. These revolts were primarily against French domination Jacobin-inspired Frenc

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Verona's Guardia Nobile (in blue and yellow and tricornes) and Schiavoni troops (in red jackets and black fezs,) during a re-enactment of the Pasque Veronesi.

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Paul Delaroche, Napoleon crossing the Alps

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Re-enactors of Venetian troops in the piazza delle Erbe

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Uniform and weapons of the Polish troops in French service, who met the insurgents on 29 March at Villanuova, near Salò

Battle of Verona (1799)
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Battle of Verona on 26 March 1799 saw a Habsburg Austrian army under Pál Kray fight a First French Republic army led by Barthélemy Louis Joseph Schérer. The battle encompassed three separate combats on the same day, at Verona, the two sides battled to a bloody draw. At Pastrengo to the west of Verona, French forces prevailed over their Austrian opp

1.
Austrian infantry skirmishing

Battle of Cassano (1799)
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The Battle of Cassano dAdda was fought on 27 April 1799 near Cassano dAdda, about 28 km ENE of Milan. It resulted in a victory for the Austrians and Russians under Alexander Suvorov over Jean Moreaus French army, the action took place during the War of the Second Coalition during the larger conflict known as the French Revolutionary Wars. While Gen

1.
Battle of Cassano d'Adda

Battle of Trebbia (1799)
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The War of the Second Coalition engagement occurred west of Piacenza, a city located 70 kilometres southeast of Milan. In the spring of 1799 the Austrian and Russian armies ousted the French from much of northern Italy after the battles of Magnano and Cassano, assembling the French occupation forces of southern and central Italy into an army, MacDo

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Suvarov's battle at Trebbia by Aleksandr E. Kotsebu

2.
Jean Victor Moreau

3.
Jacques MacDonald

4.
Peter Karl Ott

Battle of Novi (1799)
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The Battle of Novi saw a combined army of Habsburg Austrians and Imperial Russians under Field Marshal Alexander Suvorov attack a Republican French army under General Barthélemy Catherine Joubert. After a prolonged and bloody struggle, the Austro-Russians broke through the French defenses, Joubert was killed while French division commanders Catheri

1.
Battle of Novi by Alexander Kotzebue

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Alexander Suvorov

3.
Barthélemy Joubert

4.
Mikhail Miloradovich

Battle of Montebello (1800)
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The Battle of Montebello was fought on 9 June 1800 near Montebello in Lombardy. During the lead-up to the Battle of Marengo, the vanguard of the French army in Italy engaged and defeated an Austrian force in a glorious victory, napoleons capture of Milan on 2 June found the Austrian army separated into three major and several minor concentrations.

1.
Battle of Montebello

Battle of Marengo
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The Battle of Marengo was fought on 14 June 1800 between French forces under Napoleon Bonaparte and Austrian forces near the city of Alessandria, in Piedmont, Italy. Surprised by the Austrian advance toward Genoa in mid-April 1800, Bonaparte had hastily led his army over the Alps in mid-May, initially, their two assaults across the Fontanone stream

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Louis-François Lejeune: The Battle of Marengo

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Napoleon Crossing the Alps by Jacques-Louis David

3.
Torre Garofoli, Napoleon's headquarters before the battle

4.
Michael von Melas led the centre of the army during the attack, but he mistakenly believed that the battle was over before the arrival of Desaix.